"Our games are creating a rich, productive, happy world -- but only for players who know what they're doing."

- Game designer Jane McGonigal reminds developers that their games affect the lives of their players based on how the players approach them.

Author and game designer Jane McGonigal believes games change how we feel, think, act, and relate to each other, even when we aren't actively playing them. In a recent GDC talk she exhorted developers to take responsibility for how their games change people's lives, and how the design of a game -- sometimes more than the content of the game -- is what affects players the most.

During her hour-long talk McGonigal shared the interesting history of "escapist" entertainment and shared some concrete design advice for building games that positively impact the lives of their players, encouraging developers to capitalize on the opportunity to design for maximum, positive real-life impact.

It's an interesting talk, so we've gone ahead and embedded the free video of McGonigal's IGDA-sponsored session "THERE IS NO ESCAPE: Designing Games for Maximum Real-life Impact" above. You can also watch it here on the GDC Vault.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

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